Video: Bike maintenance Pt 5 – How to choose the right gear ratios for you and your bike

Most bikes come with gears but are they the right gears for the type of riding you do? Former Cycle Surgery chief mechanic Andrew Brown runs through your gear choices and how to fit new gears

by Tony Farrelly

UPDATED Wed, Oct 13, 2021 14:10

In our last bike maintenance video we showed you how to set your gears up for maximum shifting efficiency - in this video we take things a stage further by looking at the different gear ratios options available to you and how to fit then to your bike.

If the standard gear set up on your bike doesn't suit the terrain you ride over or your riding style - you can change it for something more suitable by swapping out the front chainrings or chainset and/or the rear cassette. It may sound daunting but with the right tools and some knowhow supplied by former Cycle Surgery tech guru, Andrew Brown it is totally doable.

The whole series of our bike maintenance videos is available now on Youtube to help you get to grips with the essentials of keeping your bike running efficiently all year round.

How to Clean and Lube Your Bike for Maximum Cycling Efficiency
How to Get the Best from Your Bike's Brakes
How to Keep Your Bike's Wheels Round, Tight and True
How to Adjust Your Bike's Gears for Maximum Shifting Performance
How to Choose the Right Gear Ratios for You and Your Bike
How to Cure Your Bike's Creaks and Squeaks
How to Choose and Set Up the Right Tyres for Your Bike

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cycle maintenance

Bicycle Maintenance

Tony Farrelly

road.cc's founder and first editor, nowadays to be found riding a spreadsheet. Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike, acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus. He launched his first cycling website - the Cycling Plus Forum at the turn of the century. In 2006 he left C+ to head up the launch team for Bike Radar which he edited until 2008, when he co-launched the multi-award winning road.cc - finally handing on the reins in 2021 to Jack Sexty. His favourite ride is his ‘commute’ - which he does most days inc weekends and he’s been cycle-commuting since 1994. His favourite bikes are titanium and have disc brakes, though he'd like to own a carbon bike one day.